Eight migrants were busted on drug and gun charges at the house last week.Matthew McDermott A Post reporter witnessed nearly a dozen agents bring out a handcuffed man and woman — both of whom were speaking Spanish — on Wednesday afternoon.
The third suspect, another man, was quiet as agents walked him to their vehicles.
Neighbors witnessed the squatters selling drugs in the yard.Matthew McDermott
A spokesperson for the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency confirmed the raids, but wouldn’t give specific information about what agents were looking for.
Meanwhile, the man arrested on gun charges last week arrived back at the house and told The Post that he planned on moving out.
“I’m moving,” Hector Desousa-Villalta, age 24, said. “They tricked me into living there.”
A Staten Island pol has ripped the MTA fordemanding New York City Marathon organizersfork over $750,000 to cover the cost of toll revenue lost during the race, insisting to The Post Wednesday: “They can find that money in nine hours.”
Borough President Vito Fossella slammed the transit agency after it was revealed the MTA is threatening to restrict the use of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge to runners if New York Road Runners doesn’t cough up the extra cash.
“It’s the wrong race to run,” Fossella griped.
“We lose $700 million a year to fare and toll evasion. They can find that money in nine hours if they enforce the law.”
As the negotiations continue, the MTA has warned New York Road Runners that racegoers will only be able to use either the upper or lower level of the bridge — not both — if the toll money isn’t paid up.
Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella slammed the MTA Wednesday after it was revealed its threatening to restrict the use of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge for the NYC Marathon.Brigitte Stelzer The non-profit, though, has insisted they will have to likely restrict the number of entries for the iconic event if runners are banned from using both levels.
The 26.2 mile race, which kicks off on Staten Island and is expected to draw 50,000 entrants this year, has used both decks of the bridge for the past 36 years.
“The NY Marathon is of the most iconic races in the world,” Fossella said. “I don’t know how many ten of millions of dollars in economic activity it brings to the city. We should be encouraging people to come to the city and spend money.”
“Nothing surprises me anymore with the MTA,” the borough prez added.
The MTA is demanding New York City Marathon organizers fork over $750,000 to cover the cost of toll revenue lost during the race due to the closure of the bridge.REUTERS
New York Road Runners CEO Rob Simmelkjaer has claimed the organization has already agreed to boost what it pays the MTA to partly cover the bridge’s closure for this year’s race — but the MTA is playing hardball.
“We have agreed to increase payments to the MTA in the form of both direct payments and the purchase of advertising on subways and buses,” Simmelkjaer wrote to Gov. Kathy Hocul in February begging her to step in.
“The MTA has made few concessions in these negotiations, however, and continues to insist on 100% reimbursement of lost toll revenue.”
The MTA, however, has argued Big Apple taxpayers shouldn’t be footing the bill for a “wealthy” non-profit, which reported a total income of $100.2 million for fiscal year 2023.
“New Yorkers love Marathon Sunday, but taxpayers cannot be expected to subsidize a wealthy nongovernment organization like the New York Road Runners to the tune of $750,000,” Catherine Sheridan, the president of MTA Bridges and Tunnels, said in a statement.
“The MTA is prepared to continue working toward a final agreement with the NYRR, provided it leads, over time, to full reimbursement for the lost revenue.”
Workers in California maylegally be allowedto disregard messages from their boss after the work day ends.
The pressure to respond to work messages after hours has rapidly increased in recent years, especially as remote work during the pandemic blurred the line between work and personal life boundaries. It has exacerbated worker burnout and forced many countries to look into "right to disconnect" laws, according to the World Economic Forum.
Democrat Assemblyman Matt Haney of San Francisco is aiming to add California to that list with a bill he introduced in February that's being considered in the state legislature.
If passed as currently written, Assembly Bill 2751 "would require a public or private employer to establish a workplace policy that provides employees the right to disconnect from communications from the employer during nonworking hours, except as specified."
This means that, except in cases of an emergency or for scheduling, workers would have the "right to ignore communications from the employer during nonworking hours," according to the text of the bill.
Nonworking hours would be established by a written agreement between the workers and the employer.
If the employer violates the rule, they could face a civil penalty of at least $100, according to the current version of the bill.
California would become the first state in the country to consider such a law. However, more than a dozen countries have already enacted similar laws. Kenya was the latest to do so, according to the World Economic Forum. France was the first to enact a right-to-disconnect law in 2017.
Haney’s office told FOX 5 that studies revealed how workers were "healthier, happier and more productive" after these laws were passed.
At the same time, Haney said the law will help the state better compete against other states for skilled workers.
"We are in constant competition with other states like Texas and New York who are trying to woo California workers to their states," he said. "[Giving] our workers the right to disconnect will be a major benefit to our workforce and makes the California tech sector better able to compete for skilled workers."
The president has seen a significant drop in approval among Arab and Muslim Americans in critical battleground states as civilian casualties continue to mount in Israel’s Gaza offensive. That sentiment has spread throughout the Democratic Party, resulting in heavy protests at Biden’s 2024 campaign events.
Senior administration officials previously met with community leaders in Michigan, yet Biden himself had not been present for those discussions.
A senior White House official told the Washington Examiner that Tuesday’s meeting, reported by NPR on Monday night, will continue Biden’s “tradition of honoring the Muslim community during Ramadan.”
Vice President Kamala Harris and members of Biden’s national security team will also take part in the meeting, after which the president will host “a small breaking of the fast, prayer, and Iftar with a number of senior Muslim administration officials.”
Biden has previously hosted Muslim community leaders for an Iftar dinner commemorating the end of Ramadan, but they will not join the president and Muslim administration officials for dinner Tuesday night. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that distinction was made at the request of Muslim Americans to hold serious discussions regarding Gaza.
“This was actually a request from members of the community. This is what they wanted,” she told reporters during Tuesday’s press briefing. “They wanted a working group meeting. They wanted it to be private.”
Biden, whose support for the war has waned since the Oct. 7 invasion by Hamas, is under heavy pressure from members of the Democratic Party to bring about a protracted, if not permanent, ceasefire in Gaza.
The president has steadily distanced himself from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The two nations held virtual talks on Monday after the United States abstained from a United Nations ceasefire vote last week, leading Netanyahu to pull Israeli envoys out of in-person discussions in Washington, D.C.
The White House on Wednesday pushed back on a proposal to move the U.S.-led group coordinating weapons delivery for Ukraine under the leadership of NATO.
John Kirby, White House national security communications adviser, raised doubts about having the U.S. step aside from leading the Ramstein Group, a once-a-month meeting of 50-plus nations coordinating weapons deliveries for Ukraine.
“It is bigger than NATO, it’s 50 some-odd nations all around the world, including in the Indo-Pacific — and what brought them together was American leadership,” Kirby said in a Wednesday call with reporters.
“What’s keeping them together is American leadership.”
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has proposed the alliance consider leading the Ramstein grouping, viewed as an effort to protect against increased U.S. partisanship over aid for Ukraine. Europe also fears that former President Trump may withdraw support for Kyiv and NATO if successful in securing a second term as president.
“Ukrainians, they need more support, but they also need more predictable and long term support,” Stoltenberg said at a Wednesday press conference.
Foreign ministers of NATO countries are discussing the proposals in Brussels this week, with the goal of reaching consensus in time for a Washington summit in July marking NATO’s 75th anniversary.
Kirby described the discussions as “preliminary” but underscored the benefit of having the U.S. at the helm of the Ramstein group.
Ramstein is “really the result of American convening power, and an example of how President Biden has really revitalized our leadership on the world stage to bring countries together to do this,” Kirby said.
“The president believes that America, and U.S. leadership remains vital, remains important. And he’s confident that we’re going to be able to continue to demonstrate that leadership.”
The Ramstein grouping is an initiative that was started by Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in April 2022, a few months after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The group has met nearly every month either in person or virtually. The meeting is viewed as a critical venue to coordinate what Ukraine needs, which countries can deliver materials, and discussions over battlefield tactics and operations.
